RING OUZEL 



ROCK OUZEL RING THRUSH. 



PLATE CIV. 



Turdus torquatus, . LiNNvEUS. 



Merula torquata, .... SELBY. GOULD. 



THE nest of the Ring Ouzel is usually built among the 

 heather or ling in a hollow on the ground. It is 

 hidden more or less by a tuft of heath, the root of a tree, 

 a large stone, or a projection of the rock on which it is 

 placed : those found in the more southerly counties were 

 placed at a height of about five or six feet from the ground 

 in such a situation as a small bush or stunted tree. It 

 measures about seven inches in diameter, about three and 

 a half in depth on the outside, and about two inches 

 inside. It is composed of dry grasses, heather, stems, or 

 stalks, thickly matted together, with here and there an 

 occasional leaf; on the inside it is lined with mud, within 

 which is another lining of fine grass. When the young are 

 hatched, the parent birds naturally fly at and about any 

 intruder. 



The eggs are pale greenish blue, sparingly freckled 

 with pale purple and reddish-brown markings. They are 

 four or five in number. A second brood is frequently 

 hatched in July. 



